Monday, November 20, 2006

Choreography Cognition

My weekend was dance-filled. I had belly dance class Saturday where we worked on technique for several of the moves in the routine. Some of the moves still don't feel natural, but I look better dancing this routine than some of the dancers looked at the swap meet. My classmates look even better at the belly dance routine than I do. At least I have a pretty smile and a charming personality to glow past all those mistakes.

Saturday night was spent helping Gabrielle with another pole party. That was fun. Then Sunday afternoon I learned the new routine I'll be performing with another class at the Holiday Shake. It didn't take me nearly as long to learn this new routine as it took me to learn the first pole routine I ever learned. I figured out the secret to learning choreography on my way to rehearsal. First you have to have the technique down and know the moves. If I know how the basic parts of a performance piece are done, it's easier for me to string them together. If I know the names of steps and can execute them, it's easier for me to place them in a sequence with other steps. When I don't know the basics, it's just a bunch of movements strung together in an odd sequence. This is why it's so important to learn technique.

This was the secret I was hoping the universe would reveal to me. Finally!